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Season: 2 Episode: 12 Production Code: AM212 First Air Date: January 18, 1999 Director: Dennie Gordon Writer: David E. Kelley # of Times Richard said Bygones: 1 Guest Stars:
Jesse L. Martin as Dr. Greg Butters
Synopsis: You know, it's the one with the endlessly provocative parallels between the case du jour and the ever-crumbling status of Ms. McBeal's mental health. Oh right, that's every episode. Our flaky heroine (sporting all the endearing clumsiness of a spindly calf fresh from the womb) can't trot into any courtroom without learning of how unromantic love can be. Think Afterschool Specials for the thirtysomethings in mid-life tailspins crowd. This week's angst propeller has a man attempting to cut and run from alimony payments by seeking an annulment on the grounds that he entered into the marriage via temporary insanity (he's a sexaholic and wed to feed his addiction). Ally is horrified that essentially a woman's life could be nullified by the crack of a gavel. In her self-absorbed, the way we like her best mode; the lady lawyer magnifies the case into all of her insecurity issues: being alone, being dependent on someone, and worst, being unloved. Adding to her emotional vulnerability is the fact that lately Ally has been outbeaming Julia Roberts, ever since her bee-stung Bardot pout betrayed her and re-entered the allegedly magnetic force field that is former beau Greg Butters. He is the latest in the lengthy string of diluted cardboard cutouts masquerading as boyfriends that creator David E. Kelley insist on shoving her way. Gee, maybe Kevin Costner can nab a guest shot in sweeps and we can all earn a masters degree in the art of the snooze button. Still, the show is not entirely void of intriguing pairings, for instance, there's John Cage a.k.a. The Biscuit, not exactly god's gift yet he continues in his pursuit of goddess attorney Nelle. Basically John is a tiny beetle and Nelle is the Hummer barreling towards him, it's grisly yet you can't look away. As the ice queen rapidly defrosted, shedding Armani in her wake, she revealed a Victoria's Secret body that laughably had the wanna-be Don Juan's eyes bulging to capacity and his legs sprinting for cover. While that remains a not to be missed moment, the episode's comic high came somewhat earlier when the unequipped to deal with happiness Ally and her equally neurotic sidekick The Biscuit rushed off to their therapist. In the money cameo of the season (John Ritter? Rosie O'Donnell?), action hero Bruce Willis does an hilarious turn as the bespectacled doctor with a comb-over, ably filling the shoes of series regular Dr. Tracy. Throughout the scene he snappishly mocks our favorite psychiatric patients, finally proclaiming them "two wacky little people." Meantime, the proudly pompous Richard Fish attempted to coax girlfriend Ling past the wattle stage and into his bed. She labeled sex as too messy, though Ling does artfully stimulate his sensed by seducing his index finger with her tongue. No one would usually think of the old fashioned moralistic network censors as a blessing until they notice that the Ally crew continually gets more eroticism from steamy coffee cups and knee pits than films like Eyes Wide Shut manage with full frontal nudity. Proving that sometimes less is definitely more. Back in court, the action leaned more towards plodding than sizzling until Calista Flockhart dropped the doe eyes bit and displayed her significant talent for ranting during the closing arguments. The diminutive actress got her points across with a speech full of passion and witty quips ("men shouldn't use their penis as a handicap"). Ally won and so does the viewing audience. When the episode comes to an end, Ally is still reveling in the winning spirit as Greg assures her that he will only marry once. That quiet moment kicks off what has now become McBeal's signature "Goodnight, John Boy" denouement of the story; a Vonda Shepard musical montage sweeping over the central characters and one (this time Nelle) walking alone on the streets of Boston to demonstrate Kelley's unforgiving stance on the loneliness game. |